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Old 11-14-2018, 05:53 PM   #21
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Yes sometimes they just refuse to pump after they are empty. Try razing the antifreeze above the level of the pump or pour some antifreeze in the suction hose. I use about a pint of antifreeze for the entire deal I do have an accumulator tank and that really helps blow all of the water out of the system. Drain the water heater tank etc bypass the water heater open each tap one at a time and the toilet reopen the low drain taps open all the taps then suck up some antifreeze into the pump park it for the winter! I hate the taste and smell of the antifreeze but the little bit of it mixed with some chlorine and fresh water takes care of the little bit in the pump. It's 15* right now the wind chill is 4 5" of snow on the ground and 8 more Friday never had a problem with stuff freezing!
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Old 11-14-2018, 06:00 PM   #22
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Thanks for the pic. It helps show several things.

That "looks" like a conventional winterizing kit. Curious what brand is it? It does not look like the Camco one unless they changed it recently.

That said there are a few things in play here. Your pump may be old, it may even be the original. While these pumps, (at least the newer ones) are rated to self prime uphill several feet. But as time goes by they start loosing the ability to lift fluid uphill to prime the pump.

By you putting the antifreeze in the fresh tank which is right next to the pump, the fluid flows by gravity right into the pump. No lifting uphill and the pump does not have to lift the fluid uphill to prime itself.

On the air bound pump question, when you tried did you have a downstream faucet open when you tried? On an older pump the air bound issue occurs more easily.

And then there may be some restriction in the valve that a weaker pump cannot draw fluid fast enough to self prime. Doing what Tod suggested at least gets ride of the valve.

There is nothing wrong with doing what you did by putting the antifreeze in the fresh tank and "getting er done". Good for you! Come next spring you may have to flush the fresh tank out a few times trying to get all the pink stuff to drain out. The drawback is pink stuff in the fresh tank can sometimes be hard to get rid of. If you see fizzy or sudsy water out of the faucets after sanitizing next spring this normally points to leftover antifreeze in the system.

Hope this helps

John
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Old 11-14-2018, 06:00 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by mainah View Post
Yes sometimes they just refuse to pump after they are empty. Try razing the antifreeze above the level of the pump or pour some antifreeze in the suction hose. I use about a pint of antifreeze for the entire deal I do have an accumulator tank and that really helps blow all of the water out of the system. Drain the water heater tank etc bypass the water heater open each tap one at a time and the toilet reopen the low drain taps open all the taps then suck up some antifreeze into the pump park it for the winter! I hate the taste and smell of the antifreeze but the little bit of it mixed with some chlorine and fresh water takes care of the little bit in the pump. It's 15* right now the wind chill is 4 5" of snow on the ground and 8 more Friday never had a problem with stuff freezing!
Pouring the antifreeze into the fresh water tank and pumping from there did the trick. I guess I'll give the kit a try next year.

Thanks a bunch!!!
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Old 11-14-2018, 06:02 PM   #24
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It is a Camco. I think the model number is 36543. I'd have to check my Amazon invoice to verify that.
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Old 11-14-2018, 06:05 PM   #25
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One more question. Does any one siphon the last bit of water out of the water tank or is it safe to leave as-is?

Also, I did the water heater drain hose mod. Does that need to be removed until Spring?
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Old 11-15-2018, 06:45 AM   #26
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Glad you got it to pump I have a suction valve on my pump with a 2 foot long hose one direction it pulls water from the tank the other from the hose. Often because of the valves in the pump they need liquid to seal so I often need to pour a bit of pink in the hose to kick start it sometimes it just works fine. It's OK to leave some water in the tank there is plenty of room for it to expand the same hold true for the water heater the drain is not on the bottom so what's in it harmless freezes you get into trouble when there is no room for the ice to expand. It's presently 11* here and so far I have never had a freezing issue that's why I really believe in using air pressure to blow out the lines. I pull about 1/2 pint into the pump and use some pink in the drains close the barn door and call it done.
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Old 11-15-2018, 11:01 AM   #27
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I had the same problem with my pump (wouldn't pull the pink stuff). I just blew out the lines with my pancake compressor. No problems for the past years. Oh, I pump the pink stuff in with a hand pump. Good luck..
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Old 11-15-2018, 11:05 AM   #28
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Yeah I had to run all the faucets..kitchen bath, shower, and out door shower, as well as flush the toilet til it ran pink..
One advantage is you fill the P-traps with antifreeze and get some down into the grey and black water tanks.. again no harm in a little water in a big tank...it's a full tank that bursts...
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Old 11-18-2018, 10:36 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomascine View Post
One more question. Does any one siphon the last bit of water out of the water tank or is it safe to leave as-is?

Also, I did the water heater drain hose mod. Does that need to be removed until Spring?
To help add to what has been said, see page 5 of the Atwood instructions. Lower left under "Winterizing Flushing Instructions".

Sunline Coach Owner's Club - Sunline Owner's Files - Atwood LP Gas Water Heater Installation, Maintenan

They state the last 2 qts of water can remain in the heater after draining and not be a problem if it freezes.

On the hose mod, I have the drain hose mod and have used it a long time. In my case I air blow out the system and that does remove a lot of the last 2 qts of water. I do leave my hose on all winter, "but" I do leave the drain valve open all winter. I want the ability for any water that wants to evaporate out to be able to escape.

Come spring, I always take the hose fitting out of the tank and flush the tank with a wand to get the dried up leftover minerals and things out of the bottom of the heater.

Point is, you can take the hose off now or take it off come spring. The heater should be flushed at the startup of the season so it needs to come off sooner or later. If you take it off now, I would leave the drain plug out, again to allow any water that wants to evaporate out be able to.

Hope this helps

John
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Old 11-18-2018, 12:18 PM   #30
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To help add to what has been said, see page 5 of the Atwood instructions. Lower left under "Winterizing Flushing Instructions".

Sunline Coach Owner's Club - Sunline Owner's Files - Atwood LP Gas Water Heater Installation, Maintenan

They state the last 2 qts of water can remain in the heater after draining and not be a problem if it freezes.

On the hose mod, I have the drain hose mod and have used it a long time. In my case I air blow out the system and that does remove a lot of the last 2 qts of water. I do leave my hose on all winter, "but" I do leave the drain valve open all winter. I want the ability for any water that wants to evaporate out to be able to escape.

Come spring, I always take the hose fitting out of the tank and flush the tank with a wand to get the dried up leftover minerals and things out of the bottom of the heater.

Point is, you can take the hose off now or take it off come spring. The heater should be flushed at the startup of the season so it needs to come off sooner or later. If you take it off now, I would leave the drain plug out, again to allow any water that wants to evaporate out be able to.

Hope this helps

John
Our hot water tank always contains a spectacular quantity of sediment. Flushing in the spring is well worth it given the quantity of stuff that comes out of it.
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Old 11-18-2018, 03:37 PM   #31
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Wet/dry vac with a home made tube fitting works for me.
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Old 11-19-2018, 09:44 AM   #32
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On the hose mod, I have the drain hose mod and have used it a long time. In my case I air blow out the system and that does remove a lot of the last 2 qts of water. I do leave my hose on all winter, "but" I do leave the drain valve open all winter. I want the ability for any water that wants to evaporate out to be able to escape.
John
Thanks JohnB. If I remember, I will take out the drain plug. I did leave the valve attached to the hose open but I believe the hose is kinked. I may do what Mainah does and make an attachment for the wet/dry vac to be on the safe side. I'm not too worried now, at least not as much as before.

Thanks a bunch everyone!
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Old 11-19-2018, 09:56 AM   #33
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John B. "
Come spring, I always take the hose fitting out of the tank and flush the tank with a wand to get the dried up leftover minerals and things out of the bottom of the heater. "

Ok my hoses are just barely accessible under the bed even with the new hatch I added there is significant structure in between the opening and the tank..
I do think we have a drain line that leads to that lower hose and I should probably open that eh?
I have a better than 50/50 solution of RV antifreeze and water .. higher antifreeze..which is protecting it for now but I will drain asap..
Good tip!
Now...is there a way to flush that tank without removing the hoses?? Sounds like a daunting task to me!
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Old 11-19-2018, 02:48 PM   #34
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I don't think RV antifreeze should be diluted. It is made to use full strength.
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Old 11-19-2018, 03:24 PM   #35
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I'm sure it is. It got diluted inside the heater tank only.. everywhere else it is full strength..
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Old 11-19-2018, 03:56 PM   #36
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If it's RV antifreeze don't dilute it. In the water heater it's not an issue unless it's full drain the tank and call it good. What's left will definitely freeze but it will not hurt a thing.
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Old 11-19-2018, 09:32 PM   #37
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John B. "
Come spring, I always take the hose fitting out of the tank and flush the tank with a wand to get the dried up leftover minerals and things out of the bottom of the heater. "

Ok my hoses are just barely accessible under the bed even with the new hatch I added there is significant structure in between the opening and the tank..
I do think we have a drain line that leads to that lower hose and I should probably open that eh?
I have a better than 50/50 solution of RV antifreeze and water .. higher antifreeze..which is protecting it for now but I will drain asap..
Good tip!
Now...is there a way to flush that tank without removing the hoses?? Sounds like a daunting task to me!
Hi Draughty, I think the hoses JohnB is speaking of are for the mod on the front of the water heater. It's a mod that JohnB and others have done to make it easier to drain the water heater. Instead of having to always remove the nylon drain plug, just open the valve attached to the end of the hose. It has helped a lot. Definitely glad I did it.
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Old 11-20-2018, 08:54 PM   #38
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Yes, the flushing of minerals out of the water heater is by using the "outside" drain plug hole. Like this,

I use a drain hose and valve so I do not have to use the drain plug. I drain the heater after each campout.


Taking the hose out in the spring and then flush using a garden hose. I bought this wand, it works but better is making them out of a more rigid tubing. The water pressure can really flex this plastic one. But again it works, just make sure you have it in the hole before turning on the water.





No need to take the hoses attached to the back side of the water heater off.

Hope this helps

John
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Old 11-20-2018, 09:01 PM   #39
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Wet/dry vac with a home made tube fitting works for me.
H'mm, Do you have a pic of the home made fitting to go on the shop vac? Curious on how you manipulate it inside the tank to suck up the stuff on the bottom of the tank.

The water blast wand for sure helps get a lot of the "stuff" to bubble out, but it is not 100%. Always looking for better options.
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Old 11-21-2018, 04:22 AM   #40
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Interesting modifications!
I'll have to look into that...
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